Chapter Thirty: The Ice Princess

“Arya Two, report status.”
“All systems normal. The bug has been fixed.” On a display screen, the face of a woman appeared, beneath which lay the now leveled Cedar Valley.

While Ye Bai and his companions fled beneath the snow valley, at the other end of the Glacier Continent, a woman walked across the snow wielding a sky-blue whip, its end tied to a saber-toothed tiger. From a distance, she gave the impression of beauty and the beast.

“Little Flower, why haven’t we seen anyone after walking so long? Is it possible I’m the only one left in this world?” The woman pulled the saber-toothed tiger’s head towards her, petting it as one would a giant housecat.

She kneaded the tiger’s head with her hand. “Ah, I can’t take it! Nobody to talk to—I’m dying of loneliness.” The tiger’s fur became a tangled mess under her touch.

She then extended her graceful leg, kicking at the snow all around, accidentally stepping on the tiger’s paw. The beast turned its head to look at her, innocent and bewildered.

“What are you looking at? I wonder where Honey is right now?” she muttered, pouting her lips and glaring at the tiger.

Ahead of the beautiful woman, amidst a forest of ice pillars, towering spikes rose from the ground, encircling the glacial plain. Along the ice, huge legs covered in white fur flashed by. Suddenly, a dark brown hand gripped an ice pillar, its fingers ending in razor-sharp claws several centimeters long, and the arm was covered in snowy fur.

A roar echoed.

The white snow ape hammered its chest with both fists, snarling furiously, nostrils flaring with jets of white mist.

Beside the ape, several people lay motionless by the ice pillars. One was impaled upon a spike. Soon, data chains appeared over the corpses, fading away until only blood remained to tell the tale of a brutal battle.

Not far off, a few humans retreated from the raging ape. They’d come upon it sleeping by the pillars, hoping to ambush it for some extra points, but they hadn’t expected the snow ape to be so formidable—it had slaughtered several in moments.

“Meng Yuan, what do we do now?” a scar-faced man asked a fairer youth before him.

Meng Yuan struck the ice pillar hard. “How should I know? Who could have guessed the snow ape would be this fierce, killing so many so quickly?”

“I don’t have any better ideas. Still, if you brothers trust me, let’s wait a bit longer. I have a feeling someone will come soon and take down that beast, avenging our fallen comrades.”

The group of seven had met on the road, all at the Body Tempering stage. Meng Yuan had already gathered attribute power within his body, and since he had contributed much along the journey, the others looked to him as their leader.

They followed Meng Yuan because he could help them earn points. Now, three were dead. The remaining three were restless, clearly waiting or gambling on Meng Yuan’s intuition. But if no one arrived soon, the temporary team would surely dissolve.

After the snow ape slew three, it roared at the empty air, then began searching for the survivors among the ice pillars. Meng Yuan and his three companions slowly retreated out of the ape’s patrol range.

“Little Flower, how about I braid a little tuft on your head later?”

The retreating group startled as a woman approached, Meng Yuan quickly whispering, “Keep your voice down, don’t come in.”

The three glanced at Meng Yuan, as if to say, Is this the one you think can kill the snow ape? The ape’s arm alone is bigger than she is.

Meng Yuan’s face showed embarrassment, but now was not the time for shame—escaping was urgent. The snow ape heard the girl’s voice and walked straight toward her.

She patted the saber-toothed tiger’s head. “Little Flower, a fly is coming. Stay still, I’ll swat it for you, then braid your hair.”

Seeing the snow ape charging, she let go of her whip and walked toward the beast.

“You’re interrupting my time beautifying Little Flower. I’ll teach you a lesson.” She wiped her nose and, clenching her delicate fists, rushed at the ape.

Meng Yuan’s group couldn’t bear to watch as the ape smashed the woman into pulp—they all closed their eyes.

Blue lightning flickered in the girl’s eyes, turning her entire gaze an oceanic blue, as if holding a sea within.

Her pink fist collided with the snow ape’s punch, soundless. She smiled; the ape’s face was twisted, saliva clinging to its tusks. Meng Yuan’s group squeezed their eyes shut.

Suddenly, blue light shimmered at the point of contact, enveloping the ape’s entire fist with frost. Blue radiance spread over its body, and soon, an ice sculpture of the snow ape stood among the pillars.

“Hey, Li Hao, see what happened. Why is it so quiet?”

“Why don’t you look?”

“I don’t want to see the girl turned to pulp—just look already!” Meng Yuan asserted his authority.

Li Hao quickly opened his left eye, then shut it, before slowly opening both to witness an astonishing scene.

The girl stood with her head tilted skyward, fist raised at a forty-five degree angle, while the snow ape, frozen solid, mirrored her pose in reverse, reflecting light in the sun.

Li Hao nudged Meng Yuan. “See for yourself.”

“Is it dead?” Meng Yuan, full of regret for the beauty’s presumed demise, slowly opened his eyes—only to gape in shock.

“This... this... is this the Ice Princess?”

The translucent ice sculpture perfectly captured the ape’s fierce expression.

At that moment, the points tracker on the girl’s jade-white arm lit up, displaying 72 (5).

She rubbed her fist, returned to the saber-toothed tiger, climbed onto its back, and braided its hair, while the beast leisurely walked forward.

Never once did she glance at the four men, as if they didn’t exist.

“Wait for me, Ice Princess!” Meng Yuan called, chasing the saber-toothed tiger, with the other three following. Soon, all vanished into the depths of the ice pillar forest.

Meanwhile, in another direction—

A sleepy-faced youth trailed behind a group, as the others chatted animatedly, while he dozed off repeatedly.

“How he’s survived, I don’t know. It’s like he never woke up since birth, always napping.”

“Exactly! Every time we’ve been attacked by beasts, several died, but he’s always unscathed,” a man in floral attire agreed.

The six trekked through the snowy wilderness, the five ahead discussing, while the lazy youth seemed unconcerned, gazing about as if searching for a pillow.

The Icefield Wolves dominated this plain. They knew nothing of solitary combat or individual heroics—always hunting in packs. They cared little for technique, using teeth, claws, anything to tear their prey apart.

Not far behind, an Icefield Wolf sniffed the snow, its black nose buried deep as it tried to discern scents.

Soon, it lifted its head, eyes fixed on the group.

A howl rang out.

The wolf’s call echoed, and from the valley behind, more wolves raced out, following the lead wolf in pursuit of the six.

“So, who do you think will win first place in this exam?”

“How would I know? But I bet it’s either the prince from Sand City or the princess from Sea City.” The mention of the Sea Princess made the speaker’s eyes shine with desire.

In their blind spot, a dozen Icefield Wolves drew nearer.

The lazy youth sensed something, glanced back but saw nothing, then continued on.

Just as the leader opened his mouth to speak, a wolf leapt, biting off his head in an instant, blood spraying several meters.

The others froze, then reacted quickly. One produced a yellow attribute dagger, stabbing an attacking wolf straight through.

Beside the lazy youth, two wolves lunged repeatedly, yet he always dodged, pressing his fingers against their bodies.

One wolf aimed for his throat, the other for his leg.

He bent and twisted to avoid both, then tapped their necks with his fingers. The wolves collapsed, bones cracking, and soon died.

The points tracker on his arm lit up, showing 60 (55).

The wolf pack was soon repelled. Including the youth, only three remained. The other two glanced at the corpses at his feet, said nothing, and continued onward. The lazy youth followed, and this time, silence accompanied them.